Estonia

In Estonia, arcades hold the same status as casinos when calculating revenues, as legislation makes no distinction between the two and instead categorises them both as “games of chance operators”.

Estonia’s casinos were severely affected by the global financial crisis, but have seen a gradual rebound in their earnings in recent years. Total revenues from Estonia’s casinos grew by nearly two percent to €54m in 2015, compared with €53m previously in 2013 The number of casinos in operation has remained the same throughout the past two years with 60 casino properties still employing a workforce of 810 people, a number that is also unchanged.

The Ministry of Finance and the Tax and Customs board are the regulatory bodies responsible for the oversight of land-based casinos. In January 2016, amendments to legislation extended the application of player self-exclusion lists to lottery and sports-betting.

The Gambling Act 2009 regulated online gambling for the first time under Estonian law.

As of October 2015, there were ten licensed online operators, excluding the lottery,

ECA MEMBERS

NUMBER OF CASINOS

NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES

TERRESTRIAL CONSUMER PROTECTION / SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY MEASURE

Those under the age of 21 are not allowed to enter a casino or work directly with games of chance in casinos.

A player protection programme has been established according to the law and includes a self-exclusion programme.

A database of excluded people is operated and maintained according to the statutes of the Tax and Customs Board and the Ministry of Finance.

Players can place themselves on the list and become excluded from casinos for a period of six months to three years.

Information included on the database includes the player’s name, personal ID code, or, if not present, date of birth and a photo.

Operators are obliged to establish an adequate system to ensure that persons on the list are not permitted to play games of chance.

Organisers of games of chance are prohibited from processing the data on the list for the purposes of direct marketing, or to transfer the data to third parties.

Since 2016 the player protection programme has also been widened to include sports betting and lotteries.

Organization: Gambling addiction counsellingMore information about the self-exclude is posted on the Tax Board website. www.emta.ee/index.php

Problem Gambling Prevention Policies: Estonia’s 2009 Gambling Act contains a number of general requirements for gambling organisers, obliging them to:Display rules of play;Display clear warnings regarding the addictiveness of gambling;Conduct staff training on gambling addiction awarenessPut in place fraud prevention measures;Restrict access to those not entitled to enter/participate, such as those less than 21 years of age for games of chance and 16 years of age for lotteries;

Ensure safety and public order.

Legal Gambling Age: 21 Years Old

Smoking Ban: Yes. The law, however, allows for the establishment of designated smoking areas.

THE REGULATED MARKET

NATURE OF THE CASINO MARKET

Terrestrial:Multiple licences (currently 5)

Online: Multiple licences (not capped)

REGULATED CASINO GAMES

Terrestrial:The Gambling Act does not define casino games; it only gives the definition of games of chance.

Online:The Gambling Act defines online gaming as separate serving method with some procedurally different requirements, therefore most parts of the Gambling Act applies similarly to both offline and online gambling.